Malaysia Airlines shares suspended pending announcement

A member of ground crew works on a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 airplane on the runway at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang

A member of ground crew works on a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 airplane on the runway at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Shares in Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be suspended on Friday ahead of a material announcement.

MAS said its shares will be suspended from 9 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET), confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

The share suspension comes ahead of the announcement of the airline's planned restructuring, which could include job cuts and a change in top management.

Khazanah Nasional, the airline's majority shareholder, will be holding a press conference on MAS at 3 p.m. local time(3 a.m. ET) on Friday.

MAS reported a net loss of 307.04 million ringgit ($97.27 million) in its second quarter and said its earnings in the second half will be hit by lower passenger bookings after the two jet disasters this year.